When Iona had spotted the gathering she hadn’t been expecting the situation to devolve into something like this.  And that was saying a lot considering all that Iona had seen in her lifetime. Her first point of concern when the tiger-creature had emerged was her family.  She knew very well that Alysanne and Naerys were on this island.  However, when chaos erupted she found it almost impossible to see anything on the ground.  This certainly irritated Iona, and she ground her teeth in frustration as her green eyes desperately saught their mirror pair.   However, if she couldn’t protect her sister – she’d have to help expedite in eliminating the threat.
 
Iona had never missed her magic more than she did in this moment. That was one of the things that had gone when she had decided to join Aly here in Helovia.  Her elemental mastery of air had to go.  It was a sacrifice well worth making, especially since Iona knew that this land was infused with magic of its own.  However, to say magic would be useful at a time like this would be a gross understatement.  Especially when self-healing was among her recently-removed arsenal.   But it was too late to dwell on it now.  She flew a wide circle around the battlefield in time to see a variety of equines unleash all kinds of magic at the creature – but it was the fire-based attacks that Iona were most clearly visible from the air and caused her the most concern.  Even Her Magesty himself unleashed an impressive array of fire birds at the beast.  Damn, Queenie’s got skills, she thought, with no shortage of pride.
 
With fire raging all around the beast, Iona’s options were limited. What she really wanted to do was dive and aim for its stupid tiger head.  Unfortunately, stupid tiger heads also contained stupid tiger teeth and Iona preferred not to be introduced to that particular feature of the beast.  Instead, she opted for a more general approach since getting in and getting out as without being barbecued would be her primary objective, injuring the tiger-beast in any way would be a bonus after that.  But Iona had to try, especially with her family and her new herdmates around. 
 
She gained altitude in preparation for her attack, using the updrafts from the heat from the fires below to climb quickly.  She timed her dive quickly, relying her prowess as a flyer to remain in control during a high speed maneuver.  When other pegasi had cleared the scene, she dove –her wings pulled close to her sides and her legs tucked close.  As she grew nearer she could feel the heat from the fire, but continued anyway.  It was only when she neared the creature did she extend her wings and her legs to slow her progress just enough to strike the beast, hopefully across the back or ribs.  She then attempted to make a hasty escape from the battle zone – hoping to clear the smoke, flames, and potential friendly fire without incident and make her way back to the relative safety of the skies above. 

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